Parking Commissioner Ed Valadao humbled himself before the City Council’s public property committee Tuesday night when he was invited to weigh in on the subject of the now-closed Leonard Street municipal parking deck.

“When you get down to brass tacks, the fact is it never gets done, and it’s all our fault,” he said.

Valadao was called to voice his opinion on the future of the crumbling, 30-year-old two-story parking deck, which was ordered closed last Friday by Police Chief Edward Walsh, who’s also a parking commissioner.

Walsh dropped off flyers at the Taunton Trial Court and Broadway businesses informing them the garage would close at 6 p.m. as result of an engineer’s assessment that the deteriorating structure poses a public safety threat. He said the deck will stay closed through summer and that people should take advantage of ample space in the Court and Pleasant street public parking lots.

The discussion Tuesday night focused on the cost of repairing the deck, which Walsh has said will cost at least $1.3 million, or the possibility of reducing the scope of work to save money.

Walsh said that revenue from parking fees, including on-street and parking lots, should cover most of the cost of the bond to pay for the project. Additional revenue from parking tickets would be drawn from the city’s general fund.

Councilman Donald Cleary suggested that the city cut its losses and eliminate the deck’s second level at the expense of 110 parking spaces, while retaining 130 spots on street level. He said Mark Gershman of BETA Group, the engineering firm that declared the deck unsafe, estimated removing the top deck would cost $400,000.

“I think that’s a lot more feasible,” Cleary said, adding that otherwise “we’ll be in the some boat 10, 20 years from now.”

However, Walsh cautioned that the $400,000 is solely for demolition and doesn’t include necessary repairs.

Valadao said he was personally “embarrassed” that the commission, after nearly seven years of discussing the fate of the Leonard Street deck, and after at least three inspections and reports by BETA, had gotten to the point that the deck could no longer remain open.

But Valadao said the city can’t afford to turn its back on the parking deck and urged that a full renovation be undertaken.

“Now is the time to act,” Valadao told the committee. “We should not demolish the second level. We should spend the $1.3 million to get it done — I believe it’s money well spent.”

Valadao noted that through the years, the city failed to provide adequate maintenance. The only repairs, he said, were performed intermittently by students from Bristol-Plymouth Regional Technical School.

Page 2 of 2 - A motion was passed to refer the matter to the law, police, and parks and recreation departments, as well as to vacationing budget director Gil Enos for specifics regarding available revenue.